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LISA MULLINS: A powerful earthquake struck central Italy this morning. The quake was centered near the medieval city of L'Aquila. That's about 60 miles northeast of Rome. Many of L'Aquila's ancient buildings were destroyed, and rescuers are digging through the rubble now for survivors. Italian authorities say at least 100 people are now known to have been killed, at least 1500 have been injured, and tens of thousands more have been left homeless. The BBC's Dominic Hughes is in L'Aquila. Can you tell us about the situation there right now at the end of what must have been an extremely traumatic day for the people?

DOMINIC HUGHES: Well, as you can hear in the background, the emergency service vehicles that sped here are still here. There are around 5,000 people who are working, trying to free people they still believe to be trapped in the rubble of the buildings – some of which have collapsed entirely. It's interesting. As you approach this town driving up from Rome into the Apennine Mountains, it looks almost untouched from a distance. But when you get up close, you realize that almost every building has been affected by the earthquake. Some are just missing bits of plaster or might have the odd window out, but some have much more serious damage, and others yet have collapsed entirely. I'm standing a few hundred feet from a building that has collapsed in on itself. The roof is at ground level. They've already recovered two bodies from this building. They expect they will pull out another five. And on the road in front of the building, there's dust, there's bricks, there's broken wood and twisted metal, and a few personal objects as well. Like, for example, there's a photograph of an old couple who are toasting each other at what looks like a reception in a broken glass frame. There's a grey woolen shawl, all of it coated in this dust, which is now turning to mud as the rain starts to fall.

MULLINS: You're presenting the picture of what's happening in L'Aquila. We know there are more remote villages that have been hit hard as well. Do you have any idea what's happening there?

HUGHES: Yeah. We've spoken to someone here who tells us that the villages to the east of here are the worst affected. There are some villages where there's barely a building left standing. These are little, sort of, medieval towns really, that were built on the top of hills. And you can see as you drive into area, into the region, these little towns with the church right at the top of the town and the houses sort of cascading down the hillside. There's a lot of people trying to make sure those who are still alive underneath the rubble get out. And we've been told that the next 24-48 hours is absolutely crucial in that.

MULLINS: Dominic, one other question. Have you been able to speak to anyone there who has perhaps given you a good illustration of what it was like to survive the earthquake?

HUGHES: The tales that you hear are just horrific. In the immediate aftermath, people are talking about broken water mains streaming into buildings, no power, no light, the air filled with dust. The fear, of course, that another shock might come and make worse the damage that's already there. So some pretty horrific tales of this happening, and of course it happened in the small hours of the morning. So it was dark, it was cold, and it must have been a very, very terrifying experience.

MULLINS: All right. Thank you very much. Speaking to us from L'Aquila, the heart of the earthquake that struck central Italy earlier today, the BBC's Dominic Hughes. Thank you.

HUGHES: You're welcome.

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